“I'm getting a lot of roles as women who are very powerful.
I think that's a reflection of me as a person.” Melinda Clarke

American actress Melinda Clarke, also known as Mindy Clarke, has
been in show business for nearly two decades. Celebrated chiefly for
her work on television, the daughter of actor John Clarke made a
promising debut in the daytime drama “Days of Our Lives”
(1989-1990), whose one of the original cast members also included her
father. As Faith Taylor, she was handed a 1990 Young Artist
nomination. The younger Clarke scored her next regular gigs in the
short-lived “Heaven Help Us” (1994) and the syndicated
series “Soldier of Fortune, Inc.” (1997-1999). But, it
was her guest appearances in such popular shows as “Xena:
Warrior Princess,” “Seinfeld” and “Charmed,”
as well as a recurring role in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
(2001, as Lady Heather) that kept her in the limelight. Eventually,
after fourteen years on television, she achieved star status thanks
to her role of the evil Julie Cooper on the Fox series “The
O.C” (2003-2007). Commenting about her characters in “CSI”
and “The O.C.,” she said, “Both are very strong
women, but Julie is a bigger challenge. She's a figure that doesn't
exist in real life. She's a fictional character. As an actress, this
is a special situation. Actors love parts like that. I love such
parts. You can breathe life into them on your own. However, Lady
Heather is real. There are women like her out there. She's a typical
representative of her trade.”

The Dana Point, California, native has also acted in TV movies and
films. Among her credits are “Return of the Living Dead III”
(1993), “The Killer Tongue” (1996, earned a Best Actress
Award at the Stiges Film Festival), “Spawn” (1997), “.com
for Murder” (2002) and “She Drives Me Crazy” (2007,
TV). Fans should not miss her performance in the upcoming thriller
“Mate” (2009).

Brown-haired, green-eyed Melinda has been married to
writer/director Ernie Mirich since 1997. They currently live in
Beverly Hills, California, with their only daughter, Kathryn. Clarke
is a fan of cigars and has volunteered with the Young Storytellers
Program.

Soprano

Childhood and Family:

Melinda Patrice Clarke was born on April 24, 1969, in Dana Point,
California, to actor John Clarke and ballet dancer Patricia. She has
a brother named Joshua and a sister named Heidi, who died in 1994
from a malignant heart tumor. Melinda began taking dance and ballet
lessons when she was young. She is also a trained soprano.

On June 28, 1997, Melinda married Ernie Mirich in Dana Point,
California. They had a small, private ceremony attended by close
friends and family. Melinda has a daughter named Kathryn Grace
Mirich.

Lady Heather

Career:

Melinda Clarke decided to follow in her dad's footsteps when she
was a teenager. She appeared in numerous stage productions and
musicals and took part in workshops at the South Coast Repertory and
summer camps at Idyllwilde School of Music and the Arts before making
her way to Los Angeles to pursue acting. At the time, she was 18
years old.

The Californian made her TV debut alongside her father on the
daytime soap “Days of Our Lives,” playing Faith Taylor
from 1989 to 1990. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for
Best Young Actress in a Daytime Drama. Clarke left the series to
start a film career. Her first outing, “Hot Under the Collar”
(1991), was largely ignored. She then appeared in several other
forgettable projects like the horror sequel “Return Of the
Living Dead III” (1993, opposite Kent McCord, James T. Callahan
and Sarah Douglas), Peter George's “Young Goodman Brown”
(1993, as Faith Brown), the Robert Easter-scripted “Out for
Blood” (1993) and “Return to Two Moon Junction”
(1995).

Clarke revisited the small screen in 1994 when she was cast as
Lexy Monroe in the Aaron Spelling short-lived series “Heaven
Help Us.” After its cancellation, she guest starred in “Strange
Luck” (1996), “Seinfeld” and “Sliders”
and had a recurring role in “Xena: Warrior Princess” (all
1997). She then portrayed a spy named Margo Vincent in the made-for
TV movie “Soldier of Fortune” (1997), which was produced
by Jerry Bruckheimer, and reprised the role in the spin-off series
“Soldier of Fortune, Inc.,” which ran for two seasons
from 1997 to 1999.

Melinda resumed her film career by taking a small role in
“Mulholland Falls” (1996), which starred Nick Nolte and
Melanie Griffith, starring as Candy in the drag queen comedy “The
Killer Tongue/Lengua asesina, La” (1996), a production which
won the actress a Best Actress honor at the Sitges - Catalonian
International Film Festival, and playing Mrs. M in the independent
film “Critics and Other Freaks” (1997), written, helmed
and produced by husband Ernie Mirich. However, Clarke is probably
best known for playing Jessica Priest in the Sitges - Catalonian
International Film Festival nominee for Best Film, “Spawn”
(1997), adapted from the comic book of the same name. The thriller
movie also starred Michael Jai White, John Leguizamo, Martin Sheen,
Theresa Randle, Nicol Williamson and D.B. Sweeney.

Entering the new millennium, Clarke was seen in episodes of “The
Pretender,” “Nash Bridges” (both 2000), “Star
Trek: Enterprise” (2001), “Charmed,” “Everwood”
(both 2002), “Tremors,” “Firefly” (both 2003)
and “Entourage,” and appeared in the pilot for the
Supreme Court drama “First Monday” (2002). Her TV career
was highlighted with notable recurring roles in “The District”
(as Detective Olivia Cahill during the 2002-2003 season) and “CSI:
Crime Scene Investigation” (2001, as Lady Heather). Clarke also
costarred with Nastassja Kinski and Nicollette Sheridan in the
thriller “.com for Murder” (2002), teamed up with Mel
Harris and Daniel Baldwin for the thriller “Dynamite”
(2002) and acted in her husband's film “Cold Sweat”
(2002). She also voiced Alexa for a short cartoon film by Peter
Chung, “Matriculated” (2003).

In 2003, Clarke enjoyed success on the small screen when she
joined Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan, Benjamin McKenzie, Adam Brody
and Rachel Bilson to star in Fox’s drama series “The
O.C.” Playing the resident vixen Julie Cooper, her role was
originally meant for a short guest appearance but because of the
response from audiences, she was hired as a regular. Clarke remained
with the show until it came to an end in 2007, during which time she
shared the numerous honors, including the 2005 Logie for Most Popular
Overseas Program, the 2005 People's Choice nomination for Favorite
Television Drama, the 2004 Teen Choice Awards for Choice Breakout TV
Show and Choice TV Show - Drama/Action Adventure, and the 2004 TCA
nomination for Outstanding New Program.

“Well, in the beginning I think they were like, ‘We
hate this woman. She's terrible. We can't stand her!’ Now I
think people tune in because they can't wait to see what she's going
to do and because they feel sorry for her.” Melinda Clarke on
her character Julie Cooper

After the show stopped production, Clarke portrayed Blithe Meacham
in the television movie “She Drives Me Crazy” (2007). She
then guest starred as Mimi in the series starring Bret Harrison,
“Reaper” (2007) and Sasha Banacheck in the comedy series
“Chuck” (2008). Her voice could also be heard as Charlene
in an episode of the long-running animated series “King of the
Hill” (2008).

Clarke is set to star with Callum Blue and Ian Buchanan in “Mate”
(2009), an upcoming thriller directed by Alexander Kane. Among her
costars are Stephen Baldwin, Laura Allen, Mark Derwin, Kelvin Brown,
Destiny Whitlock and Shaz Khan.